For 20 years, Randy Creswell has represented national and regional lenders, banks, financial institutions, private equity firms, secured and unsecured creditors, lessors and lessees, and other interested parties in consumer and complex commercial cases under Chapters 7, 11, and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. He has handled innumerable out-of-court workouts, receiverships and other insolvency proceedings, and he has extensive experience representing Chapter 7 trustees, Creditor Committees, stalking horse bidders, and creditors and insiders in § 363 sales, confirmation hearings of Chapter 11 plans, adequate protection contested matters, and all aspects of bankruptcy cases throughout the Northeast and nationally, including cases pending in the Districts of Delaware, Southern District of New York, Massachusetts, California, and Florida.
He is a skilled and technically sound litigator, having prosecuted and defended hundreds of avoidance and fraudulent transfer actions and other contested matters in Bankruptcy Court, U.S. District Court, and on appeal to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit. Randy has also pursued and defended many breach of fiduciary duty and non-dischargeability cases, and he is routinely involved in complex commercial litigation of all manner in federal and state court, including before the Maine Business Court.
Randy has particular acumen and experience under Maine law in all aspects of the acquisition and sale of distressed real estate, whether through judicial foreclosure auctions, commercial auctions, or bankruptcy sales. He is well-versed in mechanic’s lien law, and has represented many cities, towns, and water and sewer districts with respect to the foreclosure of real property, water, and sewer liens.
He is fully versed and proficient in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and has conducted numerous secured-party sales, strict foreclosures, power of sale foreclosures, and judicial foreclosures.
Prior to forming Creswell Law, Randy was a director with a well-respected Portland law firm where he was the Chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy/Creditor and Debtor Rights Practice Group. Before joining the firm, he served as a federal law clerk for The Honorable Gene Carter and The Honorable David M. Cohen of the United States District Court for the District of Maine. Before that federal clerkship, he was a law clerk for the Judges of the Connecticut Superior Court.
Randy received his J.D. from Quinnipiac College School of Law where he was a member of the Quinnipiac Law Review, and he is admitted to practice in multiple jurisdictions and federal courts, including the District of Maine, the District of New Hampshire, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Randy is the past Chair of the Local Rules Committee for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine, and served on that Committee for nearly a decade.
He is the past President of the Board of Trustees for the Portland Public Library, having served on the Board of that wonderful and critically important organization from 2009-2019.
Randy has also served as the Planning Chair of the Turnaround Management Association, Northeast Division, and he is a past member of the Town of Falmouth Planning Board. He is currently a member of the Cumberland Bar Association, and he served as that organization’s President in 2007.
Randy has been honored by his peers as the 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” for his work in Litigation – Bankruptcy in Portland, Maine, by The Best Lawyers in America©. Only a single outstanding lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan location is recognized with a “Lawyer of the Year” designation. Randy was also honored by his peers as the 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” for his work in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law in Portland, Maine, by The Best Lawyers in America©. For over a decade, he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. Since 2011, Randy has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Litigation – Bankruptcy. New England Super Lawyers has named Randy as a Super Lawyer for his work in the field of Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights and Bankruptcy/Consumer and Business Litigation (2018, 2019, and 2020). Randy is AV Peer Review Rated for Ethical Standards and Legal Ability by Martindale-Hubbell. Chambers and Partners USA describes Randy as possessing “good experience and good instincts,” and sources with knowledge of Randy’s abilities in the Corporate/M&A Bankruptcy area report: “He’s terrific, he’s smart and he’s got a good work ethic.”
